Ian Turner in his NYT article points to a survey show that Italians are the least happy people in Western Europe. There is a feeling of malessere, a collective funk - economic, political, and social. With a stagnating economy, a bloated and insecure bureaucracy, and an aging population, Italy has fallen way behind Western Europe in development. Only 36% of Italians trust their government compared to 64% of Denmark.
A league-high five Bucknell men’s soccer players were named to the All-Patriot League Teams on Wednesday. Seniors Corey Curnutte (Waterford, Mich./Detroit Country Day), Joey Kuterbach (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) and Joe Mellott (Highland, Md./Mount St. Joseph) earned first-team honors, while sophomore Conor O’Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) and Justin Wolf (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) landed on the second team.
Bucknell’s three first-team selections equaled Colgate for most in the league, while the five total honors topped the league. It is the most all-league selections for the Bison since they placed five players on the first team and two more on the second team in 2003.
By: Jason Petrina
Even though the amount of equipments required for anyone to play the game of soccer is much less than a sport such as hockey, but whatever is required for soccer is very important to the safety of the player. But if you plan on just playing a friendly game of soccer then all you really require is a ball and a net to shoot at. But for competitive play then there may be some specific equipments that every player must have before participating in any soccer matches. One thing you will need for an organized game would be to find the corrected field. The field must be a rectangle first, with the touch lines being longer than the goal lines. The size can vary depending on the league or age group you plan on holding the soccer match for is. The length can be as short as 100 yards to 120 yards maximum. And the width from 50 yards to 100 yards maximum.
First equipment required to run a soccer match would be a soccer ball. Without a soccer ball then there can be no soccer match. Soccer balls come in three sizes and can come in different type of materials as well. Depending on the league that you are participating in, will greatly influence the size the soccer balls will be. For an official soccer match ball, the material has always been leather but other materials are now accepted as long as it is suitable. First the size of an official soccer ball will be in between 68 cm and 70 cm in circumference. And the weight of the ball must be in between 14 oz and 16 oz. That’s why in professional matches there is always a new ball being used in play when either the ball is kicked out of a kick off occurs. This is to ensure the ball has the same amount of air in it to stay in the official soccer ball specifications.
Players that participate in competitive matches are to be equipped with soccer cleats. Soccer cleats give you more traction on the field allowing you to be able to not slip out while getting passes a defended. Soccer cleats as the names hints, underneath the shoe there will be small metal or rubber projecting out. These metal and rubbers are used to get a better grip on the field while running. Since grass can be very slippery, with the soccer cleats you will be able to take off faster. Soccer cleats can have a piece of metal in the front of tip of the shoes to allow you to kick the ball harder without causing any possible injury to your toes. Soccer cleats also come in many forms, if you play on fake turf than normal cleats for outdoor grass field will not be appropriate. Depending on the weather conditions and playing surfaces, the type of soccer cleats will be different.
One part of the body that may have to endure a series of abuse during a match would be the shins. To protect the shins from serious injuries would be to have shin guards. Shin guards are usually worn under the soccer socks to protect the shins from getting cut or kicked by other players. Since one of the ways that is allowed to take the possession of a ball off a player is tackling, the shins will be opened to soccer cleats when players attempt to tackle the ball. With shin guards they come in different shapes and types depending on the positions you play. Lets say you are a defender you will need a pair of shin guards that is more tougher to help protect you from constant tackles by forwards. While for players playing forward they can have lighter ones as defenders will not go out of their positioning to tackle the ball.
For soccer players that are positioned as the goalkeeper of the team they will need additional equipment that other players on the team will not need. Since in soccer only the goalkeepers are allowed to touch the ball with their hand, that mean that most saves will most likely required the goalkeeper to use their hands to block. So in soccer goalkeepers are given the equipment of gloves. These gloves will provide the goalkeeper with enough padding to reduce the impact of a kick from a player greatly. The padding used for soccer gloves is usually foam, and gloves do wear out fast. In addition to protecting you hand from the ball it also gives the goalkeeper a better grip to throw the ball.
In soccer it is just simple equipments that you need and all can be kept under 300 dollars if you are not planning to by brand name equipments. Other equipments such as jerseys and socks are simple addition to what you need to have before participating in organized soccer matches. The soccer jersey should be part of the fees of joining a league. And soccer socks can be easily picked up at any local sport store. That’s why soccer is the most popular sport for anyone to participate in as it does not require a lot for anyone to start up a game. As long as there is a ball and a field a simple game of soccer can easily take place.
Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com
Freshman Kelliann Doherty’s (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) sixth goal of the season brought the Orange and Blue back to within 2-1, but the Bucknell women’s soccer team was unable to complete the comeback and saw its league winning streak snapped at four with a 3-1 loss to Lehigh in soggy conditions on Varsity Soccer Field this Friday evening. With the setback, the Bison now sit at 8-7-0 on the season, 4-1-0 in the Patriot League, while the Mountain Hawks move to 7-6-3, 2-2-1 in league contests.
Conor O’Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) and Corey Curnutte (Waterford, Mich./Detroit Country Day) each netted his fourth goal of the season and Joey Kuterbach (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) recorded his sixth shutout of the year as the Bucknell men’s soccer team posted a 2-0 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) Wednesday evening at a soggy Varsity Soccer Field. The Bison, who have lost just once in their last nine games, improved to 6-4-4, while the Red Flash fell to 6-7-2.
Wesley Moodie
Tokyo, Japan (Sports Network) - South African Wesley Moodie and American Zack Fleishman were among Monday’s unseeded winners at the $832,000 Japan Open.
The 2005 Tokyo titlist Moodie snuck past Italian Simone Bolelli 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (10-8), while Fleishman held off Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1 at Ariake Colosseum.
Up next for Moodie will be this week’s top seed, Spaniard David Ferrer, while Fleishman will encounter last week’s Mumbai titlist Richard Gasquet.
In other Day-1 action, Chilean Paul Capdeville topped Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (7-4), 7-5; Spaniard Ivan Navarro edged out Dutchman Robin Haase 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-0); Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu overcame Thai Danai Udomchoke 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-1; and German Mischa Zverev beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).
Last year’s winner here was the great Roger Federer, but the Swiss star pulled out of this year’s event last week, citing fatigue. Federer defeated the recently-retired Tim Henman in last year’s Tokyo finale.
The 2007 titlist here will collect $145,000.
Source: www.tsn.ca
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Feb | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
